DIY Heritage Gift Repurposed Picture Frame Ancestor Wall Display

Eventually, after doing family history work for awhile, you might run into the same problem I had. You love your ancestors, and want to show them off, but you only have so much wall, counter, or shelf space. It’s important to make room for the living in the living room. Am I right?

I have been buying picture frames for the past couple of months at the thrift stores. Some of these, I have repurposed some of the picture frames to give as holiday gifts. When I found the huge, empty oval frame, I decided to create a DIY heritage gift for myself.

I created an ancestor wall art display.

The used frame was a little bit scratched, so I distressed the surface more with fine grain sandpaper. It adds to the vintage feel of the frame. (And it hides imperfections in the surface.) My friend Candice had some chicken wire left over from a project, and donated it for my craft.

I decided to leave the clothes pin the natural wood color, but they can be painted, stained, or you can hot glue vintage buttons to them.

The trickiest part of the project is lining the chicken wire up and making sure it is stretched and fairly even.

Wear gloves, and be patient with your wire cutting.

I learned through trial and error.

Start with the top of your frame first, with the staple gun, and work your way down the sides, stretching the chicken wire taut as you go. I used a lot of staples.

Right now,  I am featuring something for Veteran’s Day. My frame displays three Goff men who served in the military. I selected 8 x 10 inch photos of Grandpa Wayne Goff and my great uncle Max Goff. (I wasn’t exaggerating its a huge frame.) I have a picture of my dad in uniform. I also have the dog tags he gave me which you can read about here.

I plan to change the heritage items I feature in the DIY  frame above my desk monthly. Seeing pictures of people I love helps me #FocusOnJoy. Click To Tweet

I’ll use maps to highlight places ancestors  lived, in addition to other small items that I’ve inherited. I think I may even hang my great, great grandmother’s glasses from the chicken wire.

I’ve also thought about using it as a 3 – D research board for a specific ancestor, highlighting relatives or ancestors during their birthday month, or hanging my lanyard, beads, and favorite pictures from Rootstech last year.

Need more ideas? Explore some of my other DIY projects by clicking here.